Hurricanes are tropical cyclones that hit the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific and are among the most feared natural phenomena due to the deaths and devastation they leave in their wake. Hurricane Fiona is approaching Canada after hitting several islands in the Caribbean, and narrowly misses the mainland of the United States. In this text, the Technology Refugee answers the following question: what was the most devastating hurricane in history?
The answer depends on the parameter used: economic costs or loss of life. From an economic point of view, Hurricane Katrina, which hit the US in 2005, tops the list. When it comes to the death toll, however, a hurricane that hit the Caribbean Sea in 1780 and claimed 22 lives ranks first.
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Katrina: an economic disaster
Hurricane Katrina was the costliest of all time, causing approximately $125 billion in damage as it battered New Orleans and other US cities along the Gulf of Mexico coast. If corrected according to the 2022 inflation, the loss reaches US$ 188 billion.
According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, that amount far exceeds the expected $54 billion in annual hurricane spending in the country. Losses related to Hurricane Katrina were equivalent to 1% of US GDP in 2005.
The devastation was mainly caused by the storm surge (also known as the 'cyclonic tide' and 'undertow'), a temporary rise in sea level that causes flooding in coastal areas. During Katrina's passage, tides from 3 to 9 meters high invaded the American coastline in the Gulf of Mexico, including breaking dams in New Orleans.
“The most devastating hurricanes in monetary terms are more likely to occur where there is a large amount of expensive infrastructure,” explains Eric Jay Dolin, author of A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America's Hurricanes. . "That's why the costliest hurricane is Katrina."
The deadliest hurricane
The Great Hurricane of 1780 leads in deaths caused by an Atlantic tropical storm, totaling between 22 and 28,5 fatalities, mostly on the islands of Barbados, Martinique and Sint Eustace.
Its winds reached speeds of 320 km/h and devastated infrastructure and several homes in the region of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, then under colonial administration by countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain, France and the Netherlands.
Interestingly, the hurricane also sank several British and one French warships. At the time, the two countries were fighting in the American War of Independence.
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